Wisener’s breast cancer diagnosis changed her life — and taught her not to take another day for granted
By SUSAN MOORE, Marshall Medical Center
Stephanie Wisener knew breast cancer was part of her family history. An aunt battled the disease three times before losing her life to it. A cousin faced breast cancer three times and another family member died from ovarian cancer.
Still, Wisener never believed breast cancer would become part of her own story.
“I really didn’t think it would happen to me,” she said.
Then, in 2023, a cousin refused to let her put off a routine mammogram. Like many people, Wisener had fallen behind on screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Life was busy, and getting a mammogram had become something she would do “later.”
Her cousin wouldn’t let her.
“She basically harassed me into going and getting the mammogram,” Wisener said.
That persistence changed everything.
The mammogram led to additional imaging, an ultrasound and eventually a biopsy. Wisener wasn’t particularly worried. She had experienced questionable findings before, and she expected this would be another false alarm.
“I really thought it was just yet another routine test,” she said.
Then her physician told her to prepare for a phone call once the biopsy results came back.
About 48 hours later, the call came.
Wisener stepped outside to answer. Her doctor gently told her she had breast cancer.
“When she was talking, all I could hear was, ‘You have cancer,’” Wisener recalled. “That’s all I could hear.”
Her first thought was about her family.
“I’m going to die,” she remembered thinking.
Wisener was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. The cancer had been caught early, but the diagnosis still left her frightened and uncertain about what the future would hold.
For several months, she struggled with fear and denial. Eventually, she and her husband took a trip west, visiting the Grand Canyon, Albuquerque and several national parks. Along the way, she prayed.
“When I came back, I found peace,” she said.
It was time to face the cancer.
Wisener chose a lumpectomy, and doctors were able to remove the cancer with clear margins. She then began radiation treatment at Marshall Cancer Care Center, working with Dr. Tom Payne, radiation oncologist, and nurse navigator Tara Burnor.
She underwent 21 radiation treatments.
“I prayed 21 times,” she said.
But surviving cancer wasn’t only about getting through the physical treatments. The emotional battle continued.
“I became highly paranoid it was coming back,” she said.
Eventually, Wisener took a leave of absence from work to focus on healing.
“You can try to do all of it, and it will break you,” she said. “Or you actually have to step away and take care of yourself.”
During the hardest months, her family and friends stood beside her. They didn’t always know what to say. They simply showed up.
Her father, a former pilot, told her something she would never forget:
“You didn’t come this far in life for this to get you.”
He helped her get out of the house. They went hiking, traveled and started doing things again.
Slowly, Wisener began living instead of waiting for something bad to happen.
She went to concerts. She traveled. She camped with her husband. She spent time with her children and grandson.
Cancer changed her priorities.
“Up until getting cancer, I thought that the world was mine,” she said. “And then I realized that you are here for a very, very limited amount of time.”
After three years of follow-up care—including mammograms, blood work, CT scans and physician appointments—Wisener reached a milestone she and her family had been waiting for.
She was in remission.
There was cake. There was dinner. There was gratitude.
Today, Wisener knows there are no guarantees. She continues her follow-up care and screenings, but she refuses to let fear keep her from living.
“I’m still here, and I’m still Stephanie,” she said.
Her message to other women is simple:
Don’t put off your mammogram.
“Find someone to take care of your kids for a few minutes, or go while they’re in school,” she said. “But go get checked.”
She also encourages women to know their family history and talk with their physicians about their individual risk.
And for those supporting someone through cancer, she has another message:
Don’t disappear. Show up.
Cancer may always be part of Stephanie Wisener’s story, but it doesn’t define her.
“You’ve got to believe and be grateful for each day,” she said. “Whatever the day brings, just pick yourself up.”
For Wisener, remission isn’t about knowing what tomorrow will bring.
It’s about being grateful that today is still hers—and choosing to live it.
Stephanie Wisener
